Syria downs Russian plane in ‘friendly fire’
Israeli pilots use Russian plane as cover, 15 onboard killed
Beirut, Sept. 18: Syria accidentally downed a Russian military aircraft with a crew of 15 onboard when its air defences went into action against an alleged Israeli missile strike, the Russian army said on Tuesday.
The incident, which happened late on Monday, was the worst case of friendly fire between the two allies since Russia’s game-changing military intervention in September 2015.
The Russian Ilyushin dropped off the radar over the Mediterranean moments after Turkey and Russia announced a deal that offered millions of people reprieve from a threatened military assault in northern Syria.
There was no immediate word from Damascus, but the air war sequence started when missiles struck the coastal region of Latakia on Monday.
Israeli pilots carrying out attacks on Syrian targets “used the Russian plane as a cover, exposing it to fire from Syrian air defences,” the Russian military said. The plane downed by Syria’s Russian-made S-200 air defence had a crew of 15, who were all killed, Moscow said.
Russia stressed that the incident would have no impact on the Idlib deal, but warned Israel of reprisals and summoned its envoy in Moscow.
Moscow had earlier said rockets were fired from a French frigate positioned in the same area of the Mediterranean.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said pn Tuesday a “chain of tragic accidental circumstances” led to the downing by Syria of a Russian warplane with 15 people on board. The French military denied involvement.
Syria state media reported late on Monday that air defences had intercepted missiles targeting Latakia. “Our air defences are countering hostile missiles coming from the sea towards the city of Latakia, and a number of them have been intercepted,” it said, quoting a military source.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said some missiles did get through and struck ammunition depots at the site of the technical industries institute.
Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Britain-based monitoring group, said at least two fighters were killed and 10 wounded in the strike. “Two bodies were found,” he said adding that he could not immediately confirm if the casualties were soldiers or militiamen from forces supporting Bashar al-Assad.
Israel did not comment on the strikes.